By Susan Sherring
Friday November 20, 2015
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There are more changes coming to Bell Media’s Ottawa operations, the Sun has learned.
Starting Monday, CTV news anchors are taking over the reading of the radio’s newscasts from their CFRA colleagues. For CFRA employees, it’s a a kick in the teeth – demoting them from reading the news on-air to writing it for the television anchors.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” said Gord McDougall, a former news reporter with CFRA before he was let go several years ago.
The news comes on the heels of longtime newsman Steve Madely announcing his retirement on Monday.
Read More HERE
Why doesn’t this surprise me. My first thoughts are is this what Bell is planning for CTV Vancouver Island and CFAX 1070. very concerning!
I visited Ottawa over the Thanksgiving holiday; this once proud top rated station appeared to be simulcasting a morning news program from CTV during the early hours. This, from a station that Ottawa has always turned to for breaking news and hard talk. Their programming now appears to consist of fluff and happy talk. The bean counters will probably shut it down just like they did to their Montreal counterparts when the ratings go through the floor. Why bother acquiring radio stations if you’re just going to ruin them? It makes no economic sense.
I was raised and grew up in Ottawa and am a proud graduate of Woodroofe Secondary School, so let me tell you what I think of CFRA and its dismantling.
This was a legendary news radio station of historic proportions and everyone who lived in Ottawa in the 1970’s or 1980’s understands that. However, all AM radio stations have been declining in terms of audiences and ratings, therefore, the demise of CFRA was bound to happen.
Young people between 20 and 30 don’t listen to AM radio, anymore, so the audience is dying, along with the radio station.
All they have left is Lowell Green and once his contract is done, he will likely be toast.
They may well tear down 580 CFRA and turn it into something completely different, just like they did with CHUM AM.
Should the CRTC step in and hold an inquiry into the recent layoffs of Bell Media and question those who run Bell Globemedia.
Why should they ? The CRTC already meddles in the lives of too many Canadians and people are sick and tired of the CRTC, the whole fucking lot of them.
Is Bell Globemedia and CFRA actually living up to its promise of performance.
Probably.
Last time that I checked, there were no rules on having tv announcers read radio news.
They do that in markets like Lloydminister, Dawson Creek, B.C. and Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Can radio stations lay off people. Sure they can !
Radio stations do not guarantee that a certain amount of staff will be hired.
Do layoffs void their promise of performance ? No.
You can run a major market radio station with just four people; the manager and pd, acting as the morning man, an afternoon guy, a news/sports guy and a sales person.
That may be the ultimate route for many of these major market, heritage radio stations.
Hell, I have worked at some radio stations where the sales manager read the 9 am news !
I would prepare, lineup and write the package for him, then the sales manager would fuck up and trample over words, misfire audio clips, etc.
Do you think that I was pleased with that ? This was at a NABET, “union shop” radio station, no less, and the union went along with it. Go figure !
I;;s